Article of body-wear.



G. D. BRECK & W. J. MERTEN.

ARTICLE OF BODY WEAR.

APPLICATION man JAN. 4. 1918.

1,280,149. Patented 001;. 1, 1918'.

("la wanton attorney;

fill GEQFJGE l). BEECH, (31F CLEVELAND, CDHIO, AND 'WELLlrMl/ll 3'. ME .PENNSYLVAEHA; SAIE 1 133111;

Application filed January d, 1918.

weer, such as boots, gloves, bandages, and

other clothing members made primarily of rubber, srtificial leather, and the like impervious substances, the same being so trested as to eneble them to be Worn or applied close to the body Without danger or discomfort,

it is Well known that leather, While substantielly impervious to Water, is sufficiently pervious to air to permit articles of clothing made therefrom to be Worn close to the body, as in the case of boots, shoes, gloves, and surgical or athletic bandages, the ventilating f atures being suilicient to avoid soreness or foulness, Heretci'ore, however, it has elvvays been unsanitary and sometimes irnpossible to wear articles of rubber in the same Way; rubber boots are generally lined with cloth which soon becomes foul, disgusting, and unsanitary; rubber cannot be used for gloves or bandages for extended weer, While artificial leather and leather substitutes have hitherto failed of adoption for the same reasons.

The object of our invention is to avoid these drervbecks and permit articles of these materiels to be next the body With the some impunity as leether erticles; other objects ere the provision of new and improved lining or surfacing for such srticles; the provision of c lining for articles of body Wear of such it neture, such it thickness from point point, and such e mode of opplicetion that cracking or deterioration of both the lining and the article itsell" shell be avoided; end the provision of certain new and improved articles of body weer.

The essence or" our invention consists in this, that a lining consisting of thin, flexible, unbroken, sheets of pure cork is attached by cementing vulcanizmg, or the like to the inner surrace of the article, the inner surface of the cork being left naked and on P l lll' J13. Jilin eonsn use.

No. closer.

covered so as to preserve its porous and ob 'sorbent qualities.

ln the drawings accompanying end lormmg a part oi this application, wherein are illustrated a few typical embodiments of our invention; Figure 1 is a sectional view of rubber or artificial leather boot provided With our improvements; Fig. 2 is it view showing the elements or said boot in seine rated relation and illustrating one mode of making "re same; Fig. 3 is a View of a piece of material made in accordance with our improvements and illustrating another mode of fashioning articles of body Wear; l ig. l illustrates a piece of lining material; Fig, 5 illustrates a glove, 6 a bondage and l ig. 7' e shoe embodying our invention.

These drsrvings are illustrative only end do A 1 Ul-i not limit us to the articles shown or to the mode of forming the some,

The lining material which we employ cork, preferably pure, which is cut or shaved into very thin sheets, preferably from i/128th inch to 3/32nds inch in thickness and of as lerge size as convenient or nossi ble, the superficial measurements being grea as compared with thickness. prefer that these sheets shall measure several inches in each direction as the diiliculty of fitting together is diminished, though smaller fragments can be used so lo surface is great relative to the desideratum being mater not pulverized,

One of these sheets is shown in and has a soft end cloth like texture, possesses o surprisingly large amount of toughness end elasticity, and can be rolled, rubbed, and kneaded to a remarkable extent. it is preferably made from virgin cork althougl n w 7 7 rail 11% e usable quality can be cut from blocks or cork dust or granules which have been compacted together under heat and pressure.

These sheets are secured by flexible cement to the inner surface or the article and this 1 may be done at any stage of the manufacture thereof, Thus the cork sheets may be eflined to the rubber or other material before- Thus We ill? The sole is .prior to rolling as race .cles a combination of these alternatives are best employed.

Consider, for example, the manufacture of the boot shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which we will assume to be of rubber material. The sole 1, foot 2, and leg 3 are generally formed separately and later joined together.

ressed and partly cured between dies; tlhe foot portion is built on a mandrel and partly cureo; .the leg is made by rolling up a flat sheet and uniting the edges along a vertical seam at the rear; the parts are then assembled together, a suitable rubber composition applied to the seams, and the curing completed which finishes the heat treatment of the parts themselves and also joins them together. In performing our invention We cut a cork sheet of the proper size to the shape of the sole as shown at 4: and attach it by a raw rubber cement; we cut other cork sheets to suitable patterns as shown at 5 and afix them to the interior of the foot portion by a similar cement after that portion has been formed and prior to attaching the sole thereto; and we similarly cement other sheets 6 to the leg portion the same and even before cutting the same to shape. The various lined portions being then assembled together and subjected to the final curing process the linings are vulcanized to the rubber.

Vulcanization of the lining; is not essential and is not ordinarily employed in case the article itself be of a substance other than rubber, as, for example, a cellulose compound or so called artifical leather. it is important, however, that the attaching" medium be of a pliable nature and that the cork sheets be of such a thinness as not to older undue resistance to the folding; or ordi nary creasin of the article. For this reason we preferaby make the portion 5 of less thickness than the portions 4 or 6, thus avoiding cracking of the foot of the boot in use; we prefer a thickness or" the corlr of about i l/128th inch at this point, but do not limit ourselves thereto as it may be con siderably thicker or somewhat thinner. The portion 4 is comparatively thick since the sole is not seriously iiened while in use, and the softness of the corlr, its absorptive power, its ventilating power, and its heat-insulating qualities are peculiarly important at this point; we prefer a thickness of about 1/82 inch at this point, but do not limit ourselves thereto. The portion 6 is also, preferably of comparatively great thickness since the leg is not subject to serious flexing and the heatinsulating qualities of the corlr are peculiarly desirable at this point to ward oil rheumatic affections from the lower leg which is especially susceptible.

The fact that the sheets are of large compared with their thickness enables them.

- to be held firmly in place and inhibits their becoming ruifi'ed up and ground 0% by the friction of the foot, as would be the case with ranular material, and also reduces the shielding action of the cement which would tend-t0 submerge and smothera pulverulent material. The cork lining can also be washed and disinfected easily which is not the case with cloth; cloth also lacks the heatinsulating and ventilating qualities of our material.

In Fig. 3 we have shown a sheet 10 of rubber, cellulose composition, or artificial leather, coated with cork sheets as previously described, and marked with the patterns of glove-blanks ll, shoe-sole l2, athletic bandage 13, and shoe tops ll, 14-, which are'subsequently to be cut therefrom and joined together in the suitable or any well-known manner. lln Figs. 5, d, and 7, we have shown the glove, the bandage and the shoe made therefrom.

The invention is also applicable to a partial covering of the body-wear article, as in the case of a rubber boot which is lined only as to the sole, or foot portion; or to an article of body wear of which only a part is made of impervious material, such as a tennis shoe wherein the rubber or composition sole is covered with our improved lining and the upper, being of porous canvas or duck, is left bare. We esteem it important that the securing or these sheets be eii ected in such a way that the surface pores of the corlr shall not be plugged or obliterated or sub-mergedand their absorptive power impaired. As an example we recommend the employment of a rubber cement applied to the inner surface only which will adhere to the surface portions but without penetrating to any extent; and without confining" ourselves to this one material, we include this mode of at-= tachment under the term superficial adhesion. VVe also employ the expression sheets of integral corlr as denoting sheets which, prior to attachment, have an integral, continuous character. includes the various compositions and substitutes used in the arts.

ltwill be understood that other articles can be made and that other methods may be employed within the scope of our invention.

The word rubber Illiti Having thus described our invention what sheets being very small relatively to their superficial area.

2. an article oi body wear made of a flexible, non-porous, material whose surface is covered with naked of the superficial area of said sheets being great'as compared with their thickness and said sheets being attached to the non-porous material by superficial adhesion.

3. An article of body wear made of a flexible non-porous, material to whose inner surface is attached by flexible cement a naked lining consisting of thin sheets of integral cork constituting a' single 'layer,

' said sheets being accurately fitted together at their edges and the individual sheets having asuperficial area which is large relatively to their thickness.

4. An article of body wear made of a flexible impervious material whose inner surface is lined with naked sheets of inte' al cork attached thereto by superficial a hesion, the thickness of the'cork being such .that the stiffness of the impervious material will not be increased materially and the separate sheets being of lar e superficial measurement compared with t eir thickness.

5. A rubber boot lined with sheets of naked cork secured in place by superficial adhesion.

6. A rubber boot lined with sheets of naked cork secured in place by superficial adhesion, the thickness of the cork sheets being less in the foot portion than in the sole or leg portions and being in all cases small in comparison with the superficial area of these sheets.

GEORGE D. BRECK. WKLLKAM J. MERTEN. 

